Venture Insights: Armada Brands
- partnerships837
- May 22
- 4 min read
As Southeast Asia’s e-commerce space matures, many great products struggle to scale beyond their niche. Armada Brands is a house of brands that builds and grows high-potential D2C ventures in the nutrition space.
From sourcing to fulfillment to brand storytelling, Armada provides the infrastructure and expertise to take its brands like Goodies, Nala, and Nuprene from early traction to sustained growth.
The Founder: One of the key reasons we were drawn to Armada Brands was the founder himself. Andreas Hufnagl brings with him an exceptional track record in consulting and private equity, having served as an Investment Manager at Afinum Management and a consultant at McKinsey & Company. His academic foundation, which includes an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen and a Master’s degree in Finance from ESADE, reflects a background that is both analytically diligent and operationally capable.
But beyond credentials, Andreas has a clear understanding of both sides of the entrepreneurial equation. He combines a strong macro-level vision with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by founders as they scale their businesses and build lasting customer trust. This combination of vision, execution, and founder-first values makes him particularly well-suited to lead a venture like Armada.
The Market: The opportunity for Armada is rooted in the structural shifts shaping Southeast Asia’s digital economy. Between 2019 and 2024, e-commerce in the Philippines grew exponentially, with its contribution to national GDP rising 5.6x, from USD 3 billion to USD 21 billion. But beyond the numbers, this growth reflects deeper changes in how Filipinos live, shop, and engage online.
As highlighted in our 2025 Philippine Venture Capital Report, a rising middle class is driving a new wave of consumer demand. These shoppers are looking not just for affordability but also for quality, relevance, and convenience. This “missing middle” remains underserved by both mass-market giants and premium imports. Alongside this, the Philippine consumer landscape is evolving with a dual trend of commoditization and premiumization. While many Filipinos still turn to affordable yet reliable brands for essentials, spending patterns show a growing shift toward wellness, education, and personal growth. Today’s consumers are not only meeting basic needs but also investing in products and experiences that enhance their well-being and reflect who they aspire to be. This is most evident in sectors such as health, education, and communication, where lifestyle values like sustainability and quality take center stage.
At the same time, the Philippines has become one of the most digitally engaged markets in the world. Filipinos now spend close to nine hours a day online, surpassing the global average of time spent online. The country also ranks as the fifth largest market on TikTok Shop globally, making social and digital platforms the new front doors for commerce. In this market, Armada builds brands to scale sustainably.
The Company: Armada Brands designs and builds brands entirely in-house. Taking into account the unique dynamics of Southeast Asia, Armada follows a platform agnostic and multi-channel approach to brand building. Unlike models focused on a single platform, Armada is aware that success in this region requires understanding how Filipino and Southeast Asian consumers shop across a variety of channels.
Nuprene: Their first brand, Nuprene, proved the market’s appetite and the team’s ability to execute. Its acquisition by Armada validated the concept, but more importantly, underscored the value of owning the full customer experience. Having first-hand experience with the Filipino and Southeast Asian market, Armada has two brands that are now built in-house: Goodies and Nala.
Goodies Nutrition: With its first in-house brand, Armada has found early success in Goodies Nutrition—a Filipino-founded wellness brand offering science-backed supplements tailored to modern lifestyles. Known for delivering quality supplements at accessible prices, Goodies is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for health-focused products in the Philippines. According to our report, supplements are the number one healthcare product Filipinos have increased their spending on from 2023 to 2024, reflecting a broader shift toward proactive wellness.
Recognizing the growing emphasis Filipinos place on health and wellness, Goodies has gained significant traction in the market. Its proprietary platform, Goodies-Nutrition.com, now contributes over half of the company’s total revenue—a clear indication of both rising consumer demand and the brand’s success in fostering direct, meaningful relationships with its customers. This performance has notably surpassed sales on third-party platforms. Notably, about one in four Goodies-Nutrition.com customers are repeat buyers, an early sign of loyalty and product-market fit. Goodies currently offers a streamlined lineup of eight products, with plans to expand in the near future.
Nala: Building on its mission to serve underserved yet growing consumer categories, Armada launched Nala. Recognizing a gap in the market for convenient, locally made, and nutritionally balanced pet food, Nala was created in partnership with pet nutritionists and local farmers to offer meals made from real, gently cooked ingredients prepared in Manila.
While still early in its journey, Nala is gaining encouraging traction, with over 10 percent of customers already returning within the first month. As pet ownership rises and consumer expectations evolve, Nala aims to offer not just a product but a fresh and thoughtful approach to everyday pet nutrition, meeting the needs of both dogs and the people who love them.
What sets Armada apart is its end-to-end approach to building brands with intention. Their brands are developed in-house, from product design to go-to-market strategy, allowing for tight alignment between consumer insight, operational capability, and creative execution. This integrated model enables Armada to move quickly, test efficiently, and launch brands that resonate deeply with Southeast Asian consumers. The result is a repeatable system for building standout D2C brands that are both loved by customers and built to scale.